Prologue #4
“Aye, we got a situation over on Campbellton… Whitehead Funeral Home.”
I sat up, immediately. “What kinda situation.”
“The messy kind.” His voice was tight. “I had to send some shit to the laundromat.”
“What the fuck happened?” I boomed, pissed the cleaners had to be called for anything.
Every single one of my men had clear instructions.
Lay low for the next couple of months and make no moves unless it was sanctioned.
And remain drama free unless it was unavoidable.
So, unless Keem was about to tell me some shit was unavoidable then I was about to have a serious fuckin’ problem.
We didn’t need any more heat. I was trying to establish the Donatelli’s import - export business and a few other valuable fronts while I was still in Atlanta.
The thought of local PD sniffing where they don’t belong angered me.
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m on my way. I’ll see for myself,” I shoved the phone in my pocket, telling my driver to head to Campbellton.
The minute I stepped inside the funeral home, I could see the tension radiating from Keem.
He was chest to chest with one of the youngin’s apparently responsible for this mess.
While the two others sat nearby out of breath and bloodied.
Keem’s men covered the entrance, and the cleaners he’d sent for worked on the ‘problem’.
One body… female… mid-forties. The funeral home director.
The moment they saw me, their eyes bucked, realizing they royally fucked up. Terrified was an understatement. Keem’s men moved aside, and even Keem stepped back when I entered the room.
“What happened?” I asked the young bull who obviously went off script. My voice was deathly calm as I looked him unflinchingly in the eye.
I’d already peeped the scene. There were no drugs or money present. Nothing tying this property to any of our enemies, and most importantly there was an innocent woman dead.
“Three of our old corners got hit with new product—” One of the bruised men began to speak but I held my hand up halting him from saying another word. Looked directly at the culprit and growled, “Speak.”
His jaw clenched, but he knew better than to challenge me.
Clearing his throat, he began, “Your boy Orlando is back in the dope game. Two weeks in a row I’ve had to run niggas off our blocks…
with his product. I followed one of his runners back to his stash house.
Then saw Orlando sneakin’ out the back with his men.
It was too many of them, but I thought if I could catch him by himself—” He kept talking, and my hands stayed busy, screwing the silencer onto my weapon.
When he heard the soft click of it being secured, he gulped audibly but continued.
“Th— That I could catch him slipping and handle him once and for all. For the family. I followed him here but when we got inside he was gone.”
“And that prompted you to shoot an innocent woman?” I asked, my voice icy.
He shook his head frantically. “Nah, I swear I didn’t. She was just here when we arrived, and shit got out of hand. I asked where he was, and the bitch refused. Acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about. She started crying and screaming. I had to shut her up.”
I felt my temperature rising.
“What part of lay low sounded like run up in a legit spot on behalf of the family to you?”
His lips parted like he had something to say, but nothing came out. Just a dry swallow and that same uneasy look.
“Why don’t you show me. Like… how you did it. Maybe that will make all of this make sense to me.”
I walked over to the woman sprawled across the floor instructing the men there to step away from her body.
“Go on... get down there, and show me.”
Hesitantly, he kneeled, his eyes now wide with fear. “Teo, man.”
“Nah, you like to disobey orders. You bigger than direct orders, right? So go on, show me how you executed her like it was nothing. Pull out your gun and show me.” I pointed my gun at him, placing it right at his temple.
“I’m sorry.” He pleaded, still disobeying a direct order.
“Pull out your fuckin’ gun and show me how you did it,” I demanded, pulling my other gun from my waistband, aiming at one of the idiots dumb enough to follow him on this mission.
Doing as I asked he aimed his weapon at the woman lying on the floor, and I put a bullet right between his eyes. His blood splattered across my face, clothes, and the concrete walls. Pulling out a handkerchief from my pocket, I dabbed away the spots on my face.
My voice was cold. And even a little bit detached when I asked, “Anybody else wanna die today?” Nobody moved, or said a word.
I took that as a no, then nodded. “How about y’all do your fuckin’ jobs instead of whatever the fuck it is you call this.
No one goes after Orlando without MY permission. Are we clear?”
Each of their heads bobbed up and down.
“Clean this shit up. All of it.” I turned on my heels, and walked toward the exit being sure to holler at Keem on my way out giving him very clear instructions on how to handle the remaining men, and their blocks.
Once in the car, I pulled out my phone and dialed Samuel’s number. He picked up on the second ring.
“I’m heading back to New York for a while.”
There was a pause at the other end. I could hear Samuel shifting at the other end of the line.
“Everything alright?”
“Yeah.” I watched the city pass by through the window. “Operations are running smooth. Orlando’s been ghost for weeks. And I’m leaving Keem to keep an eye on things while I’m away.”
“You trust Keem to handle things without you?”
I didn’t have to think twice about my answer. Keem could handle anything, and was more equipped than anyone in my personal circle to keep an eye on the shit for me. Besides he would be handling Donatelli business solely.
“Absolutely. If Orlando surfaces, Keem will know what to do.”
Samuel went quiet for a moment.
“There’s nothing left for me here. I came to secure your territory and build our alliance. Place my roots. Mission accomplished.”
Another pause. I could almost see Samuel nodding at the other end.
“How long you thinking?”
“Few months, maybe longer. Depends on what comes up back home.” I shifted in my seat, mentally preparing for my return back home. “But the alliance stays solid. This is just me expanding my focus.”
“Fair enough. You did what you said you’d do down here.” His tone was respectful. “Keep me in the loop if anything major shifts up north.”
“Always. And Samuel?” I watched the Atlanta skyline come in closer as we approached the cluster of hotels. “If Orlando decides to test the limits while I’m gone, Keem’s got full authority to handle it however he sees fit.”
“Understood. Safe travels, Teo.”
I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket. Atlanta had served its purpose. I’d proven myself, strengthened the alliance, and built something that could run without me. Now it was time to focus on what came next.
The Donatelli empire and becoming the man worthy of Ayanna Reed.